The Minister of Defense assured this Friday that she will not allow herself to be pressured over the fact that the secretary general of this ministry continues to hold office after being charged, rejecting “summary trials” and calling for justice to be allowed to function.
“I don’t allow myself to be pressured and I want justice to do its job,” Helena Carreiras told lawmakers from the liberal Chega da Initiative during parliamentary hearings on the draft state budget for 2024.
The minister commented on the fact that the Secretary General of the Ministry of National Defense, João Ribeiro, continued to exercise his duties after being named as a defendant in the independent trial in the “Perfect Storm” case at the beginning of August.
“As for the Secretary General, I remind you that this is not a political position. When there are political responsibilities, there are political decisions. In this case, he is an official, he is someone from the administrative structure, and what we do is comply with the law. “I will not make summary judgments, I will make judgments and will always act in any circumstances where reality shows that I must act,” he stressed.
Joao Ribeiro is suspected of crimes related to abuse of power and computer fraud, according to a report in Expresso newspaper in September.
At a hearing held by the budget, finance and national defense committees, Chega parliament leader Pedro Pinto asked a government official why João Ribeiro remained in his post.
“The answer is very simple: the reason why I did not remove the secretary general when he was named as an accused in the case is called the Rule of Law, this is not corruption, his duties were not suspended by the Public. The prosecutor’s office, I myself did not receive any information, a document from the prosecutor’s office, with instructions or signs that would allow me even now to initiate disciplinary proceedings, much less suspend someone, because the law does not allow me,” he replied. .
Helena Carreiras stressed that the ministry had taken measures to “ensure that none of what happened will be repeated.”
“I believe that the Department of National Defense is currently the most audited entity or one of the most audited entities in the country. There are now almost 30 inspections and inspections that I began requesting in December 2022 from the General Inspectorate of National Defense. add to your plan,” he emphasized.
The minister called several times for justice to work.
“Justice works, it must work, and we must allow it to work within the rule of law. Let’s respect the rule of law, let’s avoid summary trials,” he concluded.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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